Preparation allows Curley to keep his cool under pressure

November 18, 2007|By Don Bostrom Of The Morning Call

Child's play and a vivid imagination enabled Rob Curley to emerge unscathed from the raging cauldron of emotions that threatened to engulf the Lafayette football team late Saturday afternoon at Goodman Stadium.

The unflappable sophomore quarterback welcomed the dire straits that confronted him -- down 17-14 to archrival Lehigh, an unforgiving clock that was about to expire on the marvelous careers of his senior teammates, and, 80 tough yards being fiercely defended by a proud swarm of Mountain Hawks to reach the end zone and a victory that would complete the first 4-0 Leopards sweep in 58 years.

And, just for fun, he'd have to lead the march with a broken pinky finger on his left hand and a swollen throwing elbow courtesy of a collision with a Lehigh helmet.

The only things missing from the dramatic equation, perhaps, were howling winds and descending darkness.

"You know, I have been in that situation thousands of times," Curley said. "Every time I went out to play as a kid, I'd pretend to be in a real jam that needed some heroics."

The twist, though, was Curley delivered as a baseball star.

"When I was a kid, it was always the bottom of the ninth and I was hitting a big home run to win the game," Curley laughed. "I absolutely wanted to be in that position."

All of that simulated preparation enabled a confident Curley to coolly, calmly lead a nearly flawless drive that ended with his own 16-yard quarterback draw run that set up the game-winning, 3-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Roeder with 3:30 left.

That throw capped a brilliant, clutch performance that saw Curley complete 15-for-25 passes for 257 yards to earn the game's Most Valuable Player Award.

The only time Curley flinched was when asked if he'd ever led a late, game-winning TD drive before.

"We [Holy Cross of Cinnaminson, N.J.] never had to do that," Curley said. "We were up by a lot of points usually."

Later, while holding an ice bag, Curley realized he had indeed been part of a Braveheart-style charge or two.

"Both were against our archrival Moorestown," Curley said. "My sophomore year I threw a TD with 13 seconds to win the game. In my final game as a senior, we were down 14 points with a minute to go. I threw two TDs to tie it up and we won in overtime."

Curley's ability to rise to the occasion could also be traced to his care-free attitude entering the game. He wasn't burdened by pressures or great expectations.

While teammates like Duaeno Dorsey were up all night, fired by an adrenaline rush of anticipation, Curley had no trouble catching some Z's.

"I took a shower and then I was out cold, man," Curley said. "I put the Hawaii game on TV and after the first series, that was it, I was done. I was zonked out.

Like all great leaders, Curley wanted to share the wealth by deflecting praise away from himself to the team.

"I don't want to take any kind of credit," Curley said. "I'm a part of a bigger team. Hey, our offensive line, first and foremost, that was the story of the day."

He found security and comfort in the knowledge that Lafayette was a united army of one.

"The best feeling is not that you know other guys have your back, but the fact you know you have theirs," Curley said.

The Leopards found strength and a reassuring calm when they peered into Curley's eyes.

"Rob has a great demeanor in the huddle," senior All-League guard Greg Lippert said. "He calms everybody down. For a sophomore he has a lot of maturity. You look at him and you know he gets what's going on."

The good news is Lafayette has a fearless quarterback primed and ready to lead them back to the championship in the next two seasons.

"The only bummer is I have to wait eight months to have this feeling again," Curley said.